STAR Ben Stiller is reunited with the Farrelly brothers and the result is pretty much the best thing either party has produced since There’s Something About Mary.

Although factually a remake of an under-rated and not very well remembered 1972 comedy starring the almost totally forgotten Charles Grodin, the Farrellys do little more than borrow the basic plot and mould it to their style.

Therefore we have the tantalising set-up of commitment-phobic Stiller bumping into gorgeous singleton Malin Akerman and enjoying a whirlwind romance which quickly leads to marriage.

Almost as soon as they hit the road for their honeymoon in Mexico, though, Akerman starts revealing character traits and behaviour patterns that would turn the most placid individual murderous.

By the time Akerman has suffered a case of toxic sunburn that confines her to their hotel room, Stiller is convinced he has made the biggest mistake of his life.

Cue the entrance of Michelle Monaghan who is in the middle of a family reunion and hits it off with Stiller so naturally, he is certain it is she who is the girl of his dreams.

Much of the film involves Stiller trying to keep his marital status secret from Monaghan while trying to keep Monaghan secret from Akerman. And while Stiller has been treading water on screen for a long time, this sees him back to his absolute comedic best.

As for the Farrellys’ style, it is pretty much what we have come to expect in terms of crude humour both physical and verbal, countered by genuinely likeable or hateable characters you can’t help wanting to watch.

STAR RATING: ***

THE KINGDOM (15) (All major cinemas)

COMBAT and politics feature heavily in this drama with a decent cast - headed by Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner - which has a team of US government agents sent to the Middle East to investigate a terrorist bombing.

The Saudi setting and military dominated approach have the unfortunate tendency of making Peter Berg’s film look like an extended Newsnight report on the war against terrorism.

But there is also an interesting debate at the heart of the story of how to cope with the aftermath of a terrorist attack which leaves several Western families dead. The question is: should this be dealt with by the military as an act of war or by trained investigators as a crime?

Foxx’s FBI chief believes the latter and when his superiors go for the former, he decides to go in with his team anyway.

STAR RATING: **

DAY WATCH (15) (All major cinemas)

THE massive Russian supernatural thriller hit Night Watch had lots of flashy effects and a fair amount of blood soaked gore but was still hard going and tough to follow.

Day follows Night in more ways than one with a single unique twist: this must be the only film in history based on a quest to acquire a powerful piece of chalk!

But this isn’t standard issue classroom equipment for this piece of chalk enables its wielder to rewrite history.

It all leads to a mega battle between the forces of day and night that is so apocalyptic, it makes you wonder what director Timur Bekmambetov has left up his sleeve for the intended third part of the trilogy.

STAR RATING: ***

RATATOUILLE (U) (All major cinemas; Monday previews)

PIXAR were generally regarded to have gone off the boil with Cars – although that movie does improve with repeat viewings – but they are reportedly back on top form with this Paris-set comedy about a rat with gourmet taste buds. Monday previews take place ahead of next week’s official release.